Nifty ends sharply lower; oil and gas stocks tank

Benchmark indices ended the day lower as the Rupee scaled past the 60 mark, even as the RBI Monetary Policy Review came in line with expectations.

The Sensex ended the day lower by 235 points (provisional), while the Nifty ended the day lower by 76 points. Among the top losers today were stocks from the oil and gas sector led by sharp losses of more then 4 per cent in ONGC and almost 7 per cent in BPCL. Reliance too saw a sharp cut of almost 2 per cent in its share price.

Software stocks remained resilient despite the sharp fall in the markets as investors took shelter in these stocks. Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech all ended the day with gains, even as the rupee dropped below the 60 mark.

Wockhardt ended the day at the lower end of the circuit filter once again with the stock seeing only sellers. Gitanjali Gems like Wockhardt was locked at the lower end of the filter.

Havells India which reported its Q1 014 numbers fell 13 per cent after investors remained unimpressed with the company's results.

Banking stocks ended the day sharply lower, following the RBI Monetary Policy Review. Major losers from the Bank Nifty were Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Yes Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. ICICI Bank was one banking stock that remained resilient in trade today.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia ended the day higher, while most of the markets in Europe also edged higher, ahead of the US Fed meet.